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JOHN A. MERR'IMAnoIF CHICAGO; VLLIN'oIs Leiters Param M. 74,569, dared Febr-amy, 18, 186s.

IMPROVEMENT 1N ccnrzsnELL-sas.,

T0 ALL WHOM IT MAY GOITCFRN:v

Be it known that I, JOHN A. MERRIMAN, of Chicago, in the county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have 5 invented a new and improved Corn-Sheller.; andA I do hereby declare that the following is'a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being h/addtgtheaccompany-ingdraw-Awww' ings, makinga part of this specification, `in which-""j-wl Y Figure 1 represents a side elevation.

Figure 2 is atr'ansverse vertical section,`the plane of sectionthrough the shellingwheel (between the points markedx az) being indicated by thefline y y, fig. 4, and through the otherV parts by the line e e, gs. and 5.

Figure 3is a view of th shelling-cone inverted. I

Figure 4 is a. top view, showing theshelling-wheel and cob-receiver, the shelling-,cone being removed.

Figure 5 is a top viewof the,corn-receiver'. t t

Figure 6 is a side elevation. of thesllelling-wheel. Figure] is-aview-of thesa'ne inverted. l Similar letters of reference indicate like parts. v Y

Thisnvention consists .in an irregular conical-shaped shelling-wheelprovidedjwith` chann'elsfcrthears oteornmnning-inmnsidem frustum of a cone, the inner Surfaceof'which 'is armed with teeth and ribs, either or-both; `aperforated anneulmeceiver, underneath and extendingl beyond the peripheryoi` the wheel, having a rdischarge at one side; an annular corn-receiver, under the .cob-receiver, having one or more discharges atthe bottom; awseries of fan-wings attached to the shelling-wheel, and revolving with it, which' blow the chad from the corn as it'dropsthrolrgh the holes in the cob-receiver; a. cob-conveyer, attached to the shellingwheel, and runningaround in the cb-receveucarryiggjhe cobs before it, and throwing themout at the discharge; acorn-conveyer, attached to the shelling-wheel, car'rgh'enormaround to the discharge, arranged l and combined in suoli a manner that theears oi' corn, being thrown promiscuously into the hopper above the` shelling-wheel, are,'hy centrifugal vforce and their own gravity, made to slide into the channels, when the corn, coming in contact with the teeth'up'on the shelling-cone, is shelled from the cobs, which, having passed through the ;channe1s, dropinto the cob-receiver, and are carried by the conveyer and thrown out'4 at the discharge. VThe corn and-chan drop through the holes'n the cob-receiver, the chaifis blown out by the fan-wings, andthe corn falling into the corn-receiver is carried by the conveyer to the discharge.

, A represents a frame, made of wood oniron, from which rise two standards, B B, which form Lthe bearings for the shaft C,to which the-power is applied. Upon this shaft, C, is thebevel-gear, D, which meshes into the wheel E, upon thel uprightV shaft This upright shaft has its bearings on. the frame A and the cross-bar G. Near the upper end ofthe shaft F is irmly fastenedV the shelling-wheel H, which is made to revolve by means olf-the shafts C and F, andthe gears D and E, nswill bev'readily understood. Upon the top of the frame A is firmly fastened the annular cob-receiverl, This receiver is made dishing, and extends around the shellingl Wheel in such a manner that the cobs, after being discharged frotnthe wheel, will fall into'it.` A portion of it is made gradually deeper, whichterminates in'an incline downward and outward, forming the discharge J. The bottom of this discharge Vmay be composed of wire, that the corn vmay the more readily pass through and be separated from the sobs. The bottom of the receiveraround its entire circumference, is perforated for the same purpose. At thepoint marlsed a, the bottom of the receiverrrises abruptly to its regular height, forming a switch, so `that the cobs may not pass around the second time, but be driven directly out at the discharge,l Securely fastened to the topof the cob-receiver l, and thereby to the frame, is the frustum of a corne, K. This cone is somewhat irregular' in shape, Vbeing slightly belledoutward at the top, where it'joins the hopper, andi slightly swelled outward along its centre, and curved inwardat its base, where it joins the cob-receiver. The bell-shape at the top facilitates the entrance'of the ears of corn; the swell alon'g the centre (marked 6) conforms to the shape ofthe ears of corn, and thereby insures the shelling of the ends and tipsrof. the ears. The exact shape of this cone may, however, be varied, if found necessary. The inner` surface of this cone is armed with teeth and ribs, either or lboth, extending as far as the diameter of the shellingqvheel, at which point there is a series of ribs c, (sec g. 3,) which are set a trifle spiralling.' The object of 'these ribs is to keep the tip of the cob of? the teeth, so that it willnot be torn and broken after having been shelled, and also by theirspiral posi- .machine on all sides. `The whole arrangement o .befdispensed with, in case the machine is used only for shelling; The shelling-con tion to draw the cob out more rapidly,. In the inside of this frustum of a cone above described the shelling-wheel H is made to revolve by means already described. #This shelling-whecl is conical-shaped in its general form, though irregular, and is provided with channels d, of which there may be any number, according t'o the capacity of. the machine.'V These channels begin near-the apex of the cone and gradually deepen, or incline downiward, as they approach the base or periphery of the shelling-wheeh This inclined shape facilitates the entrance and passage outward oi'. the ears of'corn. i Intbebottom'oi` these channels, or that portion'of them which comes under the shelling-cone,*are'spring-pssuresplates e, which press the ears of corn upward vagainst the teeth in the shelling-cone, and also are capable of yielding, so as to conftn'iicsiec of" thc ears. The direction of the channels before describd is parallel with a tangent to the circumference df theshellingviieelahTbisdw tion may, however, be radial with-respect to the shelling-wheel, but I prefe'r the tangential direction, as it causes the ears to be drawn outward :is they come in contact with the teeth and' are b eing shelled. Underneath the cob-receiver I, and fastened rmly to the frameof the machine, Ais theV corn1eceiver L, which catches the corn as it drops throgh the holes in the cob-receiver. This corn-receiver is provided with an apromf, at one side, corresponding with the cob-discharge J', and immediately nnderjtkfor the purpose of catching the corn at that point'. It is also provided with a discharge, g, where the bagor cth\er\1e1.'eptacle\n\iay be placed. There may be one or more of these discharges, as is con venient.` Attached to the shelling-wheelandrerclringpwithpit,

is the cob-conveyer t, which runsaround 'in the cob-receiver, and carries the cobs around andthr'ows them out at the discharge. A The corn-conveyer t' is also 4attached tothe shelling-wheel, and revolves'with it, running aro'und in the corn-receiver, and carrying the corn around to the discharge. Attached to the under side ofthe shelling-wheel is a series of fan-wings, j. The corn-receiver L has a flange, lc, extending around its inner periphi ery and under the fan-wings, which'giiides the blast produced by the fan-wings in such a manner as t'o throw it *hynugh under the enh-receiver, striking the chai` as'it falls through the holes, and carrying it outside of the h l c I v e co'uqecsivercnrn-rece1ver, conveyers, and fan-wings may hopper, M, into which the corn is thrown promiscuously.

- The operation cf this machine is as follows: The ears trifugv'al force of ,the revolving shelling-wheel and their own gravity, slide directly" into theV channels, and are carried .under the. shelling-cone,-Jwhen, coming in contactwiththe teeth, the corn `is shelled from the cobs, which, having passed through the channels, drop into the cob-receiver, and are carried bythe conveyer, and thrown oui: at the discharge. The corn and chai droppingr through the holes in the cob-receiver, thei'chai 1s' Ablown out by the blast produced by the fan-wings, and the corn, being caught by the corn-receiver, iscarried by the conveyer to the discharge.

Having thus minutelj, described the construction and operation ol' my inventioml do not wish to be underL stood as confining myself to this particular construction of all the parts, but claim aspfollows:

1. I' claim the shelling-wheel H, .provided with one or more channels, d, having elasticor yielding bottoms, .inI combination with a vshelling-cone, K, arranged andoperatin-g substantially inthe manner and for the purposes set forth. v i l K y Y 2. I vclaim,in combination with a corn-shelling wheel and cone, an annular cob-receiver, I, and cob-conveyer h, arranged and operating substantially in the manner and for they purposes described. i

3. I claim, in combination with the shelling-devices and cob-receiver, as above described, an annular cornreceiver, L, and corn-conveyor, z', arranged so as to operate-substantially as specified.

y 4. I claim, in combination with a shelling-wheel, H, cob-receiver, I, and corn-receiver, L, the arrangement of -fanrwings j, pperating as andlforthe purposesl shown and set forth.v

. JOHN A. MERRIMAN.

Witnesses:

M. A. MERRIMAN, J. E. MILLER.

"Jrss'srmeunted with a ofcorn are throwninto the hopper, and by the c ens p 

